Maki-e (lit. sprinkled picture) is the art of painting with urushi (lacquer) and sprinkling gold or silver powders onto it to produce pictorial designs. In Japanese culture it has long been a symbol of Japanese-style beauty.
This exhibition, jointly organized by MOA Museum of Art, Mitsui Memorial Museum of Art, and the Tokugawa Art Museum, showcases selected masterpieces of maki-e representing each era from the Heian period (794-1192) onwards, together with those of contemporary Living National Treasures. Also on view are illustrated scrolls such as the National Treasure Tale of Genji Picture Scrolls (owned by the Tokugawa Art Museum), folding screens, Buddhist sacred texts, calligraphy, and Nō theater implements. Through the display of 188 items at the three museums, including 25 National Treasures and 51 Important Cultural Properties, this exhibition traces the legacy of beauty created by the Japanese people.
We hope this exhibition will serve as an opportunity to deepen the understanding not only of maki-e but also lacquerware, as well as other arts, crafts, and Japanese culture in general, and to pass them on to the next generation.
Magnificent Maki-eTales of Urushi and Gold over a Thousand Years
April 15[Sat.] - May 28[Sun.], 2023
The Tokugawa Art Museum
The Tokugawa Art Museum
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National Treasure
Sō (Japanese zither) with Landscape in Maki-e
Heian period, 12th century
Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara -
National Treasure
Box for Buddhist Vestments with Seascape in Maki-e
Heian period, 10th century
Kyōōgokokuji Temple, Kyoto
Image: TNM Image Archives -
National Treasure
Small Karabitsu Chest with Plovers by the Shore in Maki-e and Inlaid Mother-of-pearl
Heian period, 12th century
Kongōbuji Temple, Wakayama
©Koyasan Reihokan Museum -
National Treasure
Writing Box with Chrysanthemums and Fence in Maki-e and Inlaid Mother-of-pearl
Kamakura period, 13th century
Tsurugaoka Hachimangū Shrine, Kanagawa -
National Treasure
Tebako Box with Fusenryō (floral roundels) in Maki-e and Inlaid Mother-of-pearl
Kamakura period, 13th century
Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo -
Important Cultural Property
Writing Box with Mount Otokoyama in Maki-e
Muromachi period, 15th century
Tokyo National Museum
Image: TNM Image Archives -
Important Cultural Property
Nō Mask, Magojirō, also known as “Omokage”
Attributed to Magojirō
Color on wood
Muromachi period, 14th–16th century
Mitsui Memorial Museum, Tokyo
©金井杜男 -
Important Cultural Property
Chest for Poetry Collections with Autumn Plants in Maki-e
Momoyama period, 16th century
Kōdaiji Temple, Kyoto -
National Treasure
Pair of Containers for Shell-matching Game with the Hatsune Motif from the Tale of Genji in Maki-e
Kōami Chōjū
Edo period, Kan’ei 16 (1639)
The Tokugawa Art Museum, Aichi -
National Treasure
Writing Table and Writing Box with the Hatsune Motif from the Tale of Genji in Maki-e
Kōami Chōjū
Edo period, Kan’ei 16 (1639)
The Tokugawa Art Museum, Aichi -
Important Cultural Property
Writing Box with Woodcutter in Maki-e
Attributed to Hon’ami Kōetsu
Edo period, 17th century
MOA Museum of Art, Shizuoka -
Round Box with Maki-e and Inlaid Motherof- pearl, Melodious Autumn
Murose Kazumi (1950– )
Heisei 29 (2017) / POLA Foundation of Japanese Culture, Tokyo